I can’t stand when people say “Oh, my kids love this!” I always think – well, good for you! Your kids probably eat spinach too. Well, here I am doing the same.

If I’m perfectly honest, I had to BEG them to try it. My older kids are starting to warm to broccoli in general, but this one they devour. It’s really a kid-friendly recipe, and a bit less diabetic friendly. But it’s not sugary sweet. A drizzle of honey to complement the butter goes a long way, and this is like broccoli crack.

While I make this for dinners year-round it’s also perfect for Chanukah or Shavuot where the tradition is to double down on dairy!

How to Cook your Buttery Broccoli

In the Betty Crocker Pizza Maker

This originated from a mixture of “how can I get my kids to eat some greens” and “how can I get dinner on the table in minutes” issues. So I made it in the Betty – and it came out delicious.

The Betty Crocker pizza maker that I used has a pretty high temperature (I find it similar to frying). I think it’s officially about 450°F. While it’s close to roasting temperatures in the oven, it’s directly in contact with the food. This allows the liquids that drain off to dissolve quite quickly.

I find that it comes out so good like this and is ready in about ten minutes from frozen! It’s definitely my best way to make it – so do it that way if you can. It’s moist and soft, with a hint of sweet, and packed with cheesy flavor.

In the Oven

There’s no reason you can’t make this in the oven! The biggest drawback: you’ll probably want to defrost and drain the liquid first. I do it in a covered pan, and do it at 425 for about an hour. It’s more of a soft cooked recipe than a roasted one, and that’s the idea. My kids are averse to crispy edges and this recipe doesn’t need it.

While I used mozzarella, if you use parmesan and open it for the last ten minutes, you’ll get crispy deliciousness if that’s what you’re after.

In the Air Fryer

I haven’t done this in the air fryer – mine is dedicated to meat dishes – but I’d imagine it would be delicious. The texture would be very different – dryer and crispier. It also wouldn’t sit in the butter as much as you’re cooking it, so you’ll likely get less butter and more salty flavor, but you can also melt butter and toss it for the last few minutes.

I would recommend first melting the butter with the other ingredients. and tossing it thoroughly with the broccoli if you plan to air fry it.

Tips for prepping and serving buttery broccoli

Can you Make Buttery Broccoli in Advance?

I hate answering this question but I get it, I always have the same. Obviously it’s yummiest fresh!

But the truth is, you can prep it a couple of days in advance – it’ll last 3-4 days in the fridge in an airtight container. But if you’re crisping it at all, you’ll lose that. If not, it’ll be quite delicious still if not totally fresh.

Cooked vegetables tend to not freeze very well. It’ll get mushy and lose its delicious texture. It’s very simple to prep so you really don’t need to advance freeze.

What to serve with buttery broccoli and cheese

I usually make this as a healthy addition to a pasta dinner. It goes great with rice as well, and is the perfect vegetable side for a salmon dinner.

I plan to serve it alongside potato latkes, an assortment of pastas and salads, and salmon sushi cups at our Hanukkah party.

Buttery Broccoli with Cheese Recipe

Ingredients

• 16 oz frozen broccoli (you can, of course, scale this up. If making more than 48 oz/ 2-24 oz bags, just double the other ingredients)
• 1/2 stick butter
• Drizzle of honey
• Shredded Mozzarella cheese
• Season it well – I use salt, pepper and a good spice mix in addition (such as Trader Joe’s 21 Seasoning salute)
• A Betty Crocker pizza maker

Process

1. Line your Betty Crocker with parchment paper.
2. Put in your broccoli and cut pats of butter to place all over it.
3. Drizzle on honey and season it.
4. Close your Betty Crocker and let it cook for about 5-10 minutes, checking frequently after the 5 minute mark.
5. Turn it off when it’s still bright green but just starting to crisp at the edges.
6. Sprinkle Mozzarella on top and cover the Betty Crocker for another few minutes until the Broccoli is very soft and cheese is melted.

Enjoy it fresh! Try topping it with crispy onions, parmesan, or whatever you think will complement it!

Yield: 4

Delicious Cheesy Buttery Broccoli in the Betty Crocker (or oven!)

Prep Time: 2 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Additional Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 5 minutes

This delicious cheesy broccoli can be made in the Betty Crocker pizza maker or the oven! We prefer to make ours in the pizza maker. It's drizzled with honey for a hint of sweet, and is full of cheesy goodness. It's packed with nutrients and a kid-friendly recipe that even my pickier eaters enjoy.

Print

Ingredients

• 16 oz frozen broccoli (you can, of course, scale this up. If making more than 48 oz/ 2-24 oz bags, just double the other ingredients)
• 1/2 stick butter
• Drizzle of honey
• Shredded Mozzarella cheese
• Season it well - I use salt, pepper and a good spice mix in addition (such as Trader Joe's 21 Seasoning salute)
• A Betty Crocker (or similar) pizza maker

Instructions

1. Line your Betty Crocker with parchment paper.
2. Put in your broccoli and cut pats of butter to place all over it.
3. Drizzle on honey and season it.
4. Close your Betty Crocker and let it cook for about 5-10 minutes, checking frequently after the 5 minute mark.
5. Turn it off when it's still bright green but just starting to crisp at the edges.
6. Sprinkle Mozzarella on top and cover the Betty Crocker for another few minutes until the Broccoli is very soft and cheese is melted.

Enjoy it fresh!

Notes

Try topping it with crispy onions, parmesan, or whatever you think will complement it!

I usually make this as a healthy addition to a pasta dinner. It goes great with rice as well, and is the perfect vegetable side for a salmon dinner.

You can prep it a couple of days in advance - it'll last 3-4 days in the fridge in an airtight container. This will get mushy if frozen.

You can make this in the oven at about 425 for an hour (covered). You'll need to defrost your broccoli and drain the liquid first. If cooking it uncovered, check after half an hour and gauge accordingly.

Try it with maple syrup for a slightly different flavor!

Recommended Products

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  Amazon Grocery, Golden Pure Honey, 16 Oz (Previously Amazon Fresh, Packaging May Vary)
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• 
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The post Best Ever Buttery Broccoli with Cheese (Betty Crocker or Oven) appeared first on Jewish Moms & Crafters.

Kugel is possibly the most underrated Ashkenazi food group – the ultimate comfort food.

And while I’m a big fan of a crispy potato kugel or a healthier vegetable kugel, lately I’ve been making a lot of broccoli kugel because it’s so easy! It uses frozen broccoli so there’s no peeling or chopping – but yes, you do need to take out the food processor.

Tips for making a tasty broccoli kugel

Broccoli is the kind of food that just needs a bit of the correct seasoning and then it’s incredibly tasty in its own right. But in making this, I did try to see what I can do to help it taste like the junk food that Kugel is supposed to feel like.

The sauteed onions hack

My main kicker is adding sauteed onions. Yeah, yeah, I know. The second that a recipe starts with “sautee up some onions” it’s a no-go for the “easy recipe” crowd.

But there are a few ways to tackle this issue. One is easy onions that come in a can. I don’t know if they make these for Passover, but you CAN get the frozen cube variety for this price.

My trick is that I always start any batch cooking for any holidays with sauteeing piles of onions. So it’s just another ingredient in my freezer! Do it! It’s a game-changer!

I usually slice them in the food processor, sautee them low and slow in a large pot, in the slow cooker, or when I’m really low on time, in the oven. Yes, I know, that’s not really sauteeing. Sue me.

I then store them in snack sized Ziploc bags in the freezer (freeze them flat so they defrost quickly and don’t get stuck to each other).

And if you really don’t want to? Just pop in two raw onions instead. It’ll still add lots of flavor.

Seasoning it

Since broccoli is the type of food that you just need to season right for it to be incredibly tasty, this does transfer to the kugel. I’m a big fan of spice mixes and use those heavily throughout my kitchen.

For this one I usually use Everything but the Leftovers from Trader Joe’s. Since I wanted to make it Passover friendly (and we’re still waiting for TJ’s to make us some KFP spices!) I decided to put in generous garlic powder and some black pepper – in addition to the salt, of course.

You can really play with the spices on this. Go crazy. Get creative. Just use ones that make sense.

Getting the right texture

I’m a very sensory eater and therefore, I will SWEAR by adding a zucchini to any kugel you make. It just makes it so creamy and delicious! I do it to my potato kugels and virtually any kugel I make. It doesn’t add a lot of flavor, but makes it so much more pleasant (for me) to eat.

This is something else you can ditch if you don’t like it – it won’t affect the recipe much, though you may want to reduce it by an egg.

Another thing I do for texture is add a couple of potatoes. If you’re on a low or no carb diet, you can definitely skip this. Again, it makes it less dense with broccoli and improves the texture in my opinion.

And defrost your broccoli! This is something I always forget to do. You want to allow your broccoli to fully defrost and drain, otherwise you have way too much extra water in it. So do it, and if you forgot to, flash defrost it in the microwave or in hot water.

Making this broccoli kugel recipe in larger or smaller quantities

I made this as a bigger batch kugel (it made 2×9 inch square pans and 2x 2.5 LB pans.) Once I’m making it, I might as well freeze some, right? Yes, it freezes beautifully!

Freezing and defrosting

I freeze these in pans in the target sizes I plan to use them in. I recommend getting pans with cardboard lids for this. I bake it right in that pan.

I place it in a gallon Ziploc bag as well and label it on the front of the pan and the top of the bag so that it’s easily visible.

To defrost, I place it right in the oven at 350 uncovered until it’s defrosted. I find that vegetable-based kugels have enough natural water in them that you don’t need to add any liquid when reheating.

Making smaller batches

If you take a look at the actual ingredients in this recipe, it is one of the easiest to halve.

I used two bags of broccoli, use one. Keep the sauteed onions quantity but reduce the oil by a tablespoon or two beyond halving it. Use one potato, and a small zucchini instead of medium. And of course, reduce the eggs to 6.

Gluten free, Kosher for Passover Broccoli Kugel Recipe

Printable version at the end of this post.

Ingredients

• 2x 24 oz broccoli (defrosted)
• 1/4 cup sautéed onions (can put in 2 med. yellow onions instead)
• 2 medium yukon gold potatoes, peeled or scrubbed
• 1 Med. zucchini, peeled or scrubbed
• 12 large eggs
• 1.5. cups oil (I used avocado)
• 1 T salt
• 1 T garlic powder

Equipment

• Colander
• Big mixing bowl
• Potato peeler
• Food processor fitted with the S blade

Process:

1. Preheat the oven to 425
2. Place your defrosted broccoli into a colander to strain it. Squeeze out any excess liquid.
3. Fit your food processor with the S blade and add in your vegetables. Don’t overfill. Process till coarse in batches.
4. Mix together with other ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
5. Divide into pans.
6. Bake uncovered until the top is nice and crispy, about 1-1.5 hours (depending on Kugel size)

Yield: 24 Servings

Passover Friendly Broccoli Kugel Recipe

Print

Ingredients

• 2x 24 oz broccoli (defrosted)
• 1/4 cup sautéed onions (can put in 2 med. yellow onions instead)
• 2 med. yukon gold potatoes, peeled or scrubbed
• 1 Med. zucchini, peeled or scrubbed
• 12 large eggs
• 1.5. cups oil (I used avocado)
• 1 T salt
• 1 T garlic powder
• Strainer
• Big mixing bowl
• Potato peeler
• Food processor fitted with the S blade

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 425

Place your defrosted broccoli into a colander to strain it. Squeeze out any excess liquid.

Fit your food processor with the S blade and add in your vegetables. Don't overfill. Process till coarse in batches.

Mix together with other ingredients in a large mixing bowl.

Divide into pans.

Bake uncovered until the top is nice and crispy, about 1-1.5 hours (depending on Kugel size)

Notes

If you take a look at the actual ingredients in this recipe, it is one of the easiest to halve.
I used two bags of broccoli, use one. Keep the sauteed onions quantity but reduce the oil by a tablespoon or two beyond halving it. Use one potato, and a small zucchini instead of medium. And of course, reduce the eggs to 6.

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The post Broccoli Kugel Recipe – Passover Friendly appeared first on Jewish Moms & Crafters.

It feels like I’m always looking for something new to make that’s satisfying, healthy, easy – and, of course, delicious! Here’s my latest idea that checks all the right boxes. It only takes me 10 minutes to prepare and is a real crowd pleaser!

The trick to making the perfect cauliflower rice patties is simple: crispy fried onions!

These cauliflower rice patties are perfect for home or on-the-go. They’re neat enough to be finger food and can be cooked in a Betty Crocker pizza maker if you like your food extra fresh away from home.

You can also air fry or bake these, making them so versatile to cook and serve up!

How to serve cauliflower rice patties

For a quick meal, pull out a couple and pair with sunny side up eggs and avocado on sourdough toast.

On the other end of the spectrum, they can also be served as an elegant appetizer for any meal – top it with something classy like beef fry or lox, and consider plating it with some fresh greens to dress it up.

This non-dairy, vegetarian patty will add fresh variety to your 9-days menu. You can also make it gluten-free by substituting the breadcrumbs with your preferred binder. I’ve made them with almond flour for a bit of a protein boost too.

You’ll need to make sure to use gluten free crispy onions too (or use regular sauteed onions for flavor – but you’ll miss out a bit on the texture)

You can add the seasonings to the batter one by one, or blend them together to make a great all-purpose seasoning mix you can use again and again. You can also take a shortcut and use 1 tablespoon of onion salt instead of this and that.  Feel free to play around with the seasonings to suit your taste or mood – the mild taste of cauliflower makes a great base for all kinds of flavors.

Prepping and Freezing Cauliflower Rice Patties

The quantities listed below make around 12 patties, which is very satisfying for a small family but you can multiply it for a crowd.

I usually at least double it each time I make it.

These patties freeze well, so make them in batches to pull out in a pinch – or anytime. I find a double ziploc bag keeps them really fresh. If you put 2-3 each in small ziploc bags, then you’ll have a perfect personal portion to help you stick to your eating goals without any hassle.

Cauliflower Rice Patties Recipe

Ingredients

• 12 oz. riced cauliflower
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup crispy fried onions
• 1 cup breadcrumbs (I’ve done it with almond flour as well, for a lower carb/higher protein diet)
• Seasoning blend:
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • Pinch pepper
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp parsley

Or just use your favorite seasoning blend, such as Trader Joe’s Onion Salt.

Directions

1. Mix together the eggs and the riced cauliflower.
2. Add the fried onions, breadcrumbs, and seasoning. Mix well to combine.
3. Form into patties.
4. To bake:
   • Oven: Place on a lined tray and bake at 350°F for 45 minutes. You may want to flip it about ¾ of the way through. 
   • Betty Crocker: Butter up a parchment circle (optional) Bake for 8 minutes, then flip and bake an additional 5 minutes or until golden
   • Air fryer: 350° for about 10 minutes on each side.
5. Serve with dip, spread, or garnish of your choice, or freeze for later!

Yield: 12 patties

Recipe for Riced Cauliflower Patties

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes

Make these riced cauliflower patties to serve a small family - or multiply it for a crowd! They freeze nicely and are fabulous for a quick grab. You can cook them however you'd like: air fry, oven bake, or pizza maker - I've done them all!

Print

Ingredients

• 12 oz. riced cauliflower
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup crispy fried onions
• 1 cup breadcrumbs (can be substituted for almond flour for a lower carb/higher protein diet)

Seasoning blend:

Toggle ingredient group

• ½ tsp. salt
• Pinch pepper
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp parsley

Instructions

1. Mix together the eggs and the riced cauliflower.
2. Add the fried onions, breadcrumbs, and seasoning. Mix well to combine.
3. Form into patties about 3 inches in diameter and 1/2 inch thick.
4. To bake: Oven: Place on a lined tray and bake at 350°F for 45 minutes. You may want to flip it about ¾ of the way through. 
5. Betty Crocker: Bake for 8 minutes, then flip and bake an additional 5 minutes or until golden
6. Air fryer: 350° for about 10 minutes on each side. Note: you don't have to flip! It'll just be more even if you do. Just in case, check on it after 15 minutes regardless.

Notes

• Serve with dip, spread, or garnish of your choice, or freeze for later!
• Double ziploc to freeze. Freeze in portions of 2-3 at a time for a quick bite.
• Make in a travel pizza maker for on the go
• Top with beef fry or lox to give it a little pizzaz as an appetizer for a holiday meal
• Make it gluten free by using almond flour as a binder. Crispy fried onions tend to have gluten. They do make gluten free versions. You can also substitute for regular fried onions (I stock this in my freezer anyway). This will gain the flavor you want but is a bit more labor intensive, and will miss out on texture, so only do this if you need to!

Recommended Products

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• 
  Organic French Fried Crispy Onions
• 
  Betty Crocker Countertop Pizza Maker
• 
  Kenmore 8 Qt Air Fryer

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The post Cauliflower Rice Patties appeared first on Jewish Moms & Crafters.